Te Wairua O Hōkioi • The Spirit of the Eagle

This work is inspired by both the Hokioi myth and the artistic treatment of its depiction in the rock drawings. It uses a bird as a metaphor for the free and creative spirit of our ancestors. It also shows a mast as a metaphor for the courage and skill required by our ancestors who navigated their canoes, exploring the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean.

Ross was born in Kurow, in New Zealand’s South Island. He earned a Diploma of Fine and Applied Arts from Otago Polytechnic in 1972 and had his first exhibition in 1975. In 1983, he became head of visual arts at Waiariki Polytechnic, Rotorua, and more recently he was named head of the Department of Art and Design Studies at the School of Design at Massey University in Wellington. In 1987, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand/Air New Zealand Travel Award with which to study fine arts in the United States.